VH1 Celebrity Rehab Reunion Recap
So who stayed clean and who didn’t? That was the big question for everyone as they tuned in last night for the reunion show of VH1’s Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew Pinsky. The show wrapped production in August, 2007, and since the show has aired, the public has been sitting with their eyes peeled, barely blinking, staring down the participants and waiting for them to relapse. So…did they or didn’t they?
AWOL
Two people were noticeably absent from the reunion: Daniel Baldwin and Jessica Sierra. Well, it’s no secret that Jessica Sierra, former American Idol contestant, relapsed, got knocked up and went to jail. The rumor is that she’s signed up for a year with Dr. Drew at the Pasadena Recovery Center in Los Angeles where the show was shot. As for Daniel, no one seems to really care where he is.
Straddling the Fence
Other than that, though, the outcome for the rest of the participants was positive overall. They introduced each person with highlights from the show and then an edited clip of their experience now. Chyna still isn’t sure that she’s an addict and Jeff Conaway, who left the program early, is going through surgeries and so is still on pain medication and has not really committed to moving forward. Some reported casual use like Mary Carey drinking wine, and Jaimee didn’t follow through with the outpatient treatment and still smokes marijuana. This is worrisome because, as most addicts will attest, even a little is too much; there’s really no such thing as moderation once you’ve crossed over into addiction.
Sticking With It
Brigitte Nielson and Ricco Rodriguez both managed to maintain sobriety for the six months between the end of the show and the reunion. Spurred on by the idea of being the one in 10 who makes it and his family, Ricco made all his court appointments and continues to be clean. Brigitte moved back home with her family and has made a real and consistent change in her life. Seth Binzer relapsed a couple of times, but they were short, he was honest about them and he came back from it immediately.
And The Moral of The Story Is….
What I got from this is the importance of making fundamental changes in your life, not just stopping the action of drinking or doing drugs. You started using for a reason whether it was to fit in, self-treat depression and/or to mask feelings of anger, pain, or hurt. If you continue doing the things or being around the people that made you feel that way initially, it won’t be long before your using again, no matter how effective a treatment you used to get yourself off the drugs in the first place.
It’s a scary thing, not only to take away the buffer that drugs create between you and the world, but then to make deep and fundamental changes in that world without a “crutch” of any sort. It can be terrifying and it can be a long process, but addiction is a chronic disease and the goal is this: to decrease the number of relapses and the length of relapses when they do occur. It’s the best you can do and though we all wish that we could pop a magic pill and ensure a completely abstinent future, it just isn’t reality.
So thanks, Dr. Drew. I think this just might be the first reality show that not only attempted to treat a highly personal disease in front of millions of viewers but that also actually had at least a dose of reality in it.
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March 25th, 2008 at 1:37 am
(Please delete above comment, this has been “reworked”, edited a tad, spell checked, cuz it was worth my time and care. Thanks!)
So, first reality shows take “television personalities” and throw them onto reality themed shows fueled with alcohol, crude sex, and almost every other vice to profit off of those already addicts and alcoholics, or set the stage to create a serious addiction to those vulnerable to this serious disease. Sensationalism and morbidly embarrassing acts done under the influence…”what?” “Makes good entertainment”. I have heard the producers of such shows say the “non actors” of these reality based series are also happy for they are there to profit financially. It is almost some odd consolation prize after humiliating them for life, jeopardizing their relationships, family, most of all their health all for the price of fame? Being famous for what?…being filmed at one’s very worst as a means to profit at the expense of their health, the stability of their relationships in “real life”, as well their reputations and any future of a career as a ligament actor.
But OH! In comes the doctor, ironically picking up a few of the same “television personalities” off these same shows, that aired on the same channel! I would LOVE to feel that VH1 was taking some role of responsibility, stepping up to the plate for much of what they had their hands in creating. I think Dr. Drew Pinsky means well, and has that dreamy caring and disarming personality, that potentially, in the right setting these people could really get some amazing treatment!
I feel so grateful to say that it is now ten years since anorexia nearly claimed my life and daily I work my recovery. When I saw someone dear to me suffering from alcoholism, I dropped everything else important to me at that time and put his recovery my only goal or life’s importance. It took two years and several recovery programs, and I would not take back one moment or regret that time spent. School and career dreams would wait, this person I grew to love, this disease could not be “put on hold”. Daily I’m still learning…but found a few things to be true. To get “sober” or end addictive behavior, one has to give up control, let go of ego, and live off faith letting go of fear. Since many television shows are ego based, they are probably not a very appropriate place in feel completely safe in opening up one’s greatest nightmares, and “inner demons” of past trauma. Nor do I feel that proffiting off other’s past and present pain, is at all ethical! (I may not have gotten the Notice, but?!?) When were directors given the right to play “God” with people’s lives?
Finally, and most importantly, One has to be willing to surrender and give up the addiction for themselves, for that inner person that stopped growing when the addiction began. To get back to the wounded soul inside, to nurture, to find self worth, along with the hope and faith to build the spirit! Who one surrounds themselves with is also vitally important, that they are also supportive, encouraging and believe in your ability to live a life free of addiction.
It is true that many addicts have huge personalities or egos that make for great television. But in truth I have found many of these people had very little or no connection to themselves apart from their tv roles, nor developed a real sense of self esteem. I have had the honor to meet and spend time with a few of the people mentioned, and can definitely say that they are worth experiencing a lifetime full of bountiful health, happiness, and success…but my wishes for them cannot make their decision to change. If one does not think they are worth it, please try wishing or praying to feel worth it. Frustrating and crushing, no one can chose recovery for another individual. They can only go to support groups such as Alanon that teach the individual how not to enable the addict.
Finally, when someone does chose to take that path toward sober living, it is by far not an easy one. But the freedom from the vice, the honesty and level of intimacy that can be found or restored with one’s mate and loved ones, the strength in healing old wounds and feeling strong without the need of a substance are gifts from recovery. And in recovery, one seems to find that some of life’s most cherished gifts and meaningful experiences, come not later listed on as a tv credit or as a paycheck. True gifts, often need not be asked for, nor do they hold a price tag.
Bottom line, one must recover for themselves, not for their mate, not for their family, they have to want to do it for themselves, and ESPECIALLY NOT FOR A TELEVISION SHOW!!!
Blessings to those mentioned! You can do it! Well Wishes to all out there also suffering this morbid disease. There are people and resources out there that want to help you, for free.
Sincerely, humbly, GG.
March 31st, 2008 at 12:04 am
Be careful, switching from one addiction to subutex addiction is a real problem. If you find you are suddenly prescribed 24 mg/day and you ask how to detox off of subutex, the answer may be to go to a “institutional setting”. This is unacceptable
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Suboxone instead of Subutex is generally preferable to any opiate addiction as it is most often implemented as a detox as opposed to a maintenance plan. However, even those who use Suboxone as an opiate addiction maintenance find that it’s less disruptive in their daily lives than any opiate painkiller or methadone maintenance. The idea is to institute an end date to your drug use, no matter what it is, so that you can move forward without being tied down to any addiction.